Every offseason there are a handful of players who do not make the NFL Hall of Fame that have us scratching our heads.
First ballot Hall of Famers don’t grow on trees, so we don’t fret if players don’t get in during their first year of eligibility.
The common thought process is that the player will just get in next year.
Well, former Dallas Cowboys Safety Darren Woodson has been waiting for next year since 2008.
It’s unacceptable, intolerable, unsatisfactory, impermissible, and unreasonable.
You name the synonym, and it will fit my sentiments.
If it wasn’t bad enough that Woodson still isn’t in, we are also subjected to watching lesser players get selected before him.
I suppose they may be lesser based on my own opinion, but I’m the one writing this article so you’ll just have to bear with me.
Woodson might not be in the upper echelon of career interceptions (23), but his style of play changed the game.
Much like Tom Landry’s 4-3 Cover 2 scheme was duplicated, defensive coordinators around the league started looking for the next Darren Woodson.
That alone should be enough to get him recognized as one of the best to ever do it.
Early Career
Darren Woodson was a 2nd round pick by the Dallas Cowboys from Arizona State University in the 1992 NFL Draft.
Dave Campo was the defensive coordinator at the time, and Woodson was not even the prospect he showed up to see at Sun Devil Stadium.
However, Woodson caught Campo’s trained eye immediately, and the coaching gears in his head started working.
Unless you’re a fan of the Cowboys, you probably don’t know that Woodson was an outside linebacker while in college.
A bit undersized, but faster than your typical linebacker, Campo and the scouts had a vision for what he could do as an NFL safety.
His rookie season was spent mostly on the special teams unit, cutting his teeth for his eventual starting debut in the 1993 season.
Woodson was a freak of nature before the term was even popular.
He had the speed and ball skills of a cornerback, but the size of a prototypical safety.
Even being the size of a safety, he had the hitting power of a linebacker.
He became a mismatch nightmare for opposing offenses to deal with.
Nickel Safety
The term may be popular now, but back in the 90s and early 2000s, nickel safety was not a position that was widely fielded.
As three wide receiver sets became more popular around the NFL, Woodson was the answer to that.
Most cornerbacks, especially those third on the depth chart, simply lacked the talent necessary to cover speedy wide receivers out of the slot.
Even top cornerbacks back then didn’t move around the formation the way they do in today’s game.
Offensive coordinators compounded that problem by putting their best wide receivers in the slot on money downs.
Against a defense’s third cornerback, it was like taking candy from a baby.
Woodson changed that by bumping down into the slot on those money downs, and eliminating slot wide receivers.
To fully grasp just how good Woodson was, you have to understand the caliber of players that were playing in the slot back then.
Names like Jerry Rice, Sterling Sharpe, Herman Moore, and Cris Carter are just a handful that Woodson was helping to slow down.
Stats and Accolades
Darren Woodson was forced to retire after the 2003 season due to back issues that just wouldn’t go away.
Despite the nagging back injury, Woodson still started all 16 games of his final season, and helped lead Dallas to the #1 overall defensive ranking.
He finished his career as the Cowboys’ all-time leading tackler (967), and was eventually inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2015.
Woody recorded at least one interception in each of the 10 seasons he was a starter, and reached five interceptions in a season twice.
Not only was Woodson a fierce tackler, he was also a menace when blitzing.
He compiled 11.0 sacks in his career, and forced 12 fumbles while recovering 11.
His resume includes five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams to go along with his three Super Bowl rings.
When Will He Get In?
Only time will tell, but hopefully the answer to this question is sooner than later.
With a weaker class in 2024, Woodson should be a shoe in.
However, we’ve seen him get passed up by lesser players at his position before.
Inexplicably, LeRoy Butler was selected over Woodson in the 2022 class.
The year before that, John Lynch was selected into the Hall of Fame.
I’m not saying Butler and Lynch are slouches by any means.
What I am saying is their career numbers were very similar, and neither of those two revolutionized the game like Woodson did.
Hopefully the Hall of Fame Committee will open their eyes and do the right thing in 2024.
Darren Woodson should be a Hall of Famer.
He has waited long enough to be recognized for his accomplishments, and lasting impact on the NFL game.